How can historians tell the story of European integration – the story of Europe – in the digital age?

The challenges currently facing historians attempting to write the history of European integration are twofold: they must deal with both paradigmatic changes in the discipline and the geopolitical upheavals that have swept the continent since the late 20th century. In this context, today’s historians need to find answers to a number of fundamental questions. How can they write and recount contemporary European history at a time when real events are overtaking our prospective imagination and when the rules, grammar and codes have all shifted significantly? How can they develop a comprehensive, 360-degree view of Europe and its place in the world? How can they foster a new vision of European history by means of a comparative, multifaceted and democratic approach? How can they strike a balance between the resurgence of identity-based national historical narratives and the development of a unified narrative of European history? What role should interdisciplinarity, new digital methodologies, interactive approaches and networking play in analysing and interpreting sources?

To explore these questions in more depth, the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH), Paris-Sorbonne University’s LabEx-EHNE and the European Parliament would like to invite you to the fifth ForumZ, entitled A new narrative for Europe: Quo vadis?

This event will be led by Prof. Dr Andreas Fickers, Director of the C²DH. It will open with a presentation by Prof. Dr Eric Bussière, Professor at Paris-Sorbonne University, holder of the Jean Monnet Chair in European Integration History and Director of the LabEx-EHNE, who will look at the challenges and questions surrounding the writing of a new history for Europe.